


The Unknown

by NamelessNovelist



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, I'm gonna tag as I go along, Lemme know if you want something tagged
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27585079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelessNovelist/pseuds/NamelessNovelist
Summary: In the forested depths of The Unknown, two brothers, Wilbur and Tommy, accompanied by their pet fox, search for society. The twisting paths of the forest had managed to turn the siblings around and completely separate them from their adoptive father, Phil.The Unknown, with all of its charm, isn’t safe, however, with the daunting shadows and haunting figures, Wilbur and Tommy realize the only way out of this dark forest, is through.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Floris | Fundy & TommyInnit, Floris | Fundy & Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 10
Kudos: 114





	1. Chapter 1

“Antelope, Vincent, Foxy, Floris, Henry, Jason…” the younger brother, Tommy, listed as he swung a small fox in his arms, “But I think, the absolute worst name for this fox would be Wilbur.”

“Ugh, shut up, Tommy,” the older brother, Wilbur cut in, annoyed, as Tommy snickered.

Their conversation mixed with the sounds of nature echoing through the woods. Singing birds and chittering squirrels filled the air when suddenly silence blankets wood.

“Wait…” Wilbur stopped walking and surveyed the area, “Tommy, I… Where are we?”

Tommy stopped his cackling and looked at Wilbur as he sat the fox down on to the grass next to him, “What do you mean? We’re just walking home.”

“No, Tommy! I…” Wilbur’s expression crumpled in distress, “I think we’re lost! We should’ve left a trail or something.”

Tommy gasped and reached into his trouser pockets to pull out handfuls of candy, “I can leave a trail of candy! How funny would that be, Wilbur! We’re like bootleg Hansel and Gretel!”

Wilbur sighed and continued walking, “No, though I am lost, my wounded heart resides back home, in pieces, strewn about the graveyard of my lost love…”

“Writing poetry, Wilbur? I always thought angsty music was more you’re style.” Tommy snarked.

“Alright, listen here, you little gremlin-”

The sound of an ax chopping wood interrupted Wilbur’s response and sent a chill down both boy’s spines. The fox traveling with them curled himself around Wilbur’s legs, trying to hide from the startling sound.

“Do, do you hear that?” Wilbur gasped.

“Yeah,” Tommy replied around a mouthful of hard candies.

“What if it’s a deranged murderer planning to chop us up?” Wilbur asked, almost excitedly, hoping to scare his younger brother. To his surprise, his teasing had the exact opposite reaction as he watched Tommy sprint off in the direction of the sound.

“Tommy,” Wilbur called, enraged, “When we get home, Phil is going to kill you!” 

Wilbur found Tommy tucked behind a thick bush, watching a teen around his age sing as he chopped and gathered wood. He was dressed in some kind of lime green hooded cap, and a white mask with a smile painted on it covered his face.

“We should ask him for help,” Tommy whispered.

“I’ll talk to him. If he really is a murderer, I wouldn’t want to deal with your dumbass ghost.” Wilbur was about to stand and approach the woodsman when he realized that the man had moved when he wasn’t looking. “Damn it! What are we gonna do now?”

“Maybe I can help you?” A monotoned voice asked from behind them, thoroughly startling the two brothers and fox, “I mean, you are lost, right?”

Tommy, frantically trying to find the source of the voice, looked back and forth rapidly until his eyes settled on a pig wearing a crown. “Oh, what the fuck?!”

“What the hell,” Wilbur, just as shocked as Tommy, slapped himself on the face a couple of times, “A talking pig? What the fuck is happening?”

“Well,” Tommy began, already recovered from his shock enough to taunt his brother, “You’re slapping yourself, and I’m answering your question-”

“No, Tommy,” Wilbur said, exasperated, “A pig’s brain isn’t developed enough for human speech.”

“Okay, well now you’re just being rude.” The pig narrowed his eyes.

Tommy, having already grown bored of the conversation, decided to start licking pieces of candy and sticking them to things. The tree branches, the bush leaves, and even a nearby tiny, black turtle, were soon covered in the sugary sweets. “Look, Wilbur! Mindless vandalism!”

Wilbur ignored his brother in favor of apologizing to the pig, “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it! I just meant that you’re weird, like not normal. I just mean that.... Look I’m clearly hallucinating, so I’m just gonna stop talking.”

“A hallucination?” The pig cried out, indignant.

Tommy simply continued covering the surrounding environment in hard candies, while their pet fox busied itself by chewing on some kind of lollypop. Noticing Wilbur's cape dragging in the ground, Tommy contemplated how much candy he could stick to it before he noticed. 

Suddenly, the voice they heard singing earlier shouted from behind them, “What are you doing here? Explain yourselves!”

At that, the pig quickly turned to make his leave, “Aaand I’ll see you two nerds, later.”

Wilbur grabbed Tommy by his shoulder and pulled the preteen closer to himself, “Look, man, there is no reason to yell! We just want to find our way back home!”

The masked teen shook his head, fuming, “The woods are no place for lost children. Don’t you know there is a Beast afoot!”

“Okay firstly, I would like to say I am not a chil-”

Wilbur slapped his hand over Tommy’s mouth, effectively cutting off the boy’s sentence, “Listen, man, we haven’t heard anything about a Beast, and you seem to be about our age, so let’s all find somewhere to sit down and you can tell us about this Beast.”

“Well,” the other teen sighed, “Welcome to The Unknown, guys. You’re more lost than you realize.”


	2. Chapter 2

The masked teen led the siblings into an old Grist Mill. The wood of the walls was splintered and damp, and the stone floors were smooth and cold.

“I found this place a while back, abandoned. I repurposed the mill for my needs,” The masked boy said as he squatted next to the fireplace and used a piece of flint and steel to spark a fire, “You and your brother should be safe here, while I work.”

Tommy, throwing pieces of unwanted hard candy out the entrance of the mill, looked towards the mysterious teen, “So what’s your name, Big Man?”

“I only go by Dream now.”

“Well, “ Wilbur cleared his throat, “Dream, what is your… work, exactly?”

Dream sighed and stared into the fire emptily, “Everyone has a torch to burn.” He paused and turned to pat the large lantern he had been using to guide them through the dark forest, “This one is mine. I use those awful Edelwood trees to make oil. Grind them up, all to keep this lantern lit. That’s all my life is. My burden.” Suddenly he grew angry and reached into his pack of collected Edelwood. He grabbed one of the smaller branches and snapped it in half before throwing it as hard as he could at the wall.

Wilbur took a step back from Dream and shuffled closer to Tommy, who had also grown uncomfortable, “ Look, Tommy, this guy is clearly insane, what do you say to booking it out of here?”

“As long as we try to knock him out first. He seems crazy enough to chase us.” Tommy whispered back, only half-joking.

“I’m not deaf, ya know,” Dream snapped as he stood, “Stupid and alone, but not deaf. Leave if you want! I don’t care, makes no difference to me. But remember, a beast haunts these woods,” he grew mournful but urgent, “Always singing that sad song. Searching for lost souls, such as yourselves!”

“Oh, well, he could be trying to help us.” Tommy sarcastically sniped.

Dream glared at Tommy before rolling his eyes, “Look, I have work to do in the mill. When I’m done, I will do what I can to get you back home, if you’re still here.”

With that, the masked teen picked up the lantern and marched out of the living area of the Mill, and into where the wood was pressed for oil. The eerie atmosphere that had manifested had left with him as Tommy and Wilbur seemed to unwind. Tommy marched over to a dusty couch that sat across from the fire and flopped down to sprawl across the cushions. The fox that had taken to following the two boys trotted up behind him and curled up at Tommy’s feet.

Wilbur, however, remained standing as he stared in the direction Dream had exited, “Huh, I guess we could just leave.”

Tommy groaned, “Why would we leave? He already offered to help us, and there is a fire here! It’s warm!”

“I guess we can stay. Say, do you think the Beast is even real or is he just fucking with us?” Wilbur asked as he moved to sit on the arm of the couch. When he turned to look at his brother, however, he discovered that Tommy had already dozed off and was snoring lightly. Wilbur sighed and ran his hand through Tommy’s blonde hair. “I’ll get us home soon.”

Roughly 10 minutes later, Wilbur awoke and realized that at some point, he too had fallen asleep. He blinked a few times to clear his mind of grogginess. As his vision focus, he saw Tommy fumbling around the room frantically, searching for something. “Tommy, what’s up?”

“The fox is missing! I was gonna show him to Phil! He must have run off while we were sleeping,” Tommy clenched his fists and his face took on a determined expression, “We have to find him.”

Wilbur sat up and stretched as he yawned, “Tommy it was a wild fox. It’s probably happier out in the forest.”

“No!” Tommy snapped, “We have to find him. The Beast is out there remember?”

“Tommy, just let it go! There’s not even a Beast to worry about.”

It was times like this that Tommy genuinely thought Wilbur couldn’t give less of a shit about him. Wilbur was adopted by Phil a long time ago, and Tommy could still remember when Wilbur had been resentful of him for getting adopted too. In the beginning, Wilbur spent most of his time ignoring him, but Tommy had thought that they had gotten better. Clearly, Tommy thought, that wasn’t the case.

“Whatever, Wilbur. I’ll find him myself.” Tommy ground out and marched off into the cold night.


	3. Chapter 3

Outside the mill, Tommy hugged his arms to himself tightly, shivering in the cold night. He realized that leaving alone likely wasn’t the best idea, but his pride kept him from turning back to ask his brother for help.

“Where are you, you stupid fucking fox? I was worried at first, but now you’re just pissing me off!” Tommy called, listening to his voice echo and reverberate around the eerily empty woods.

For a moment, Tommy swore he had heard the sound of a guttural growl rattle out from a heavily brushed area a couple of paces away. His heart jumped and a rock dropped into his stomach, but he merely swallowed before continuing his search. He moved closer to the brush and reached to part some of the thick vines, but was interrupted by what could only be described as a small barking sound coming from a wooden barrel, tucked against the side of the Mill.

“That better have been you, you dumb animal. I swear if a single hair on your annoyingly orange head is hurt, I’ll…” Tommy approached the barrel cautiously, “Well, I don’t really know what I’ll do, but believe you me, I will do something.”

Grasping the rim of the barrel, Tommy slowly peered over the edge to look inside, and he untensed a little when he saw the familiar face of the small orange fox.

“You lucky little bastard,” Tommy mumbled as he reached inside to pick up the fox and pull it close into his embrace, the relief he felt wasn’t hidden well, but it allowed his ego to peacefully rest. 

As he began to move back towards the living area of the Mill, Tommy caught the sight of movement from inside the processing portion of the mill. It was difficult to see through the grimy window, but Tommy could make out the silhouette of Dream, grinding the Edelwood into oil, and bottling the liquid for later use.

Tommy typically couldn’t care less about the wellbeing of some stranger, but something about the dreary and miserable atmosphere surrounding the masked teen made him hesitant. Sad. 

Suddenly, Tommy was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the same growling from earlier rumbling from behind him. He whipped around as quickly as possible before coming face to face with a massive Dire Wolf with electric yellow eyes, the shock knocked him backward and he crawled back closer to the wall.

“WILBUR!” Tommy screamed as the wolf continued to growl, baring its fangs and gnashing its teeth.

Meanwhile, Wilbur laid across the couch and stared up at the ceiling, thinking. He loved his brother dearly, but in many ways, he simply couldn’t understand him. Some meaningless fox went missing, so what? It was a wild animal and all that really mattered was getting home safely. He couldn’t understand why Tommy didn’t see the bigger picture.

“WILBUR!” Tommy’s distant yell cut through the silence and Wilbur launched himself up off the couch as Dream ran in.

“What the fuck is happening?” Dream asked, looking around frantically, “Where’s your brother?”

As if on cue, Tommy sprinted in through the entrance carrying the fox, stumbling over himself in panic, “Shit, oh fuck! Oh, my fucking- Jesus Christ! Holy shit!”

The two older teens had no time to prepare as the Dire Wolf followed Tommy, practically blowing the door off of its hinges. 

“Tommy!” Wilbur grabbed his brother by the arm and pushed him behind himself protectively, “What did you fucking do?”

Dream raised his hands placatingly, and nodded his head towards the door to the oil processing room, “Guys, get the fuck out of here! I’ll take care of the wolf, just go!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Tommy shouted as he and Wilbur made a break for the other room.

Once out of immediate danger, Wilbur and Tommy proceeded to tuck themselves away behind the oil machine, breaths heaving and hearts racing. They could hear sounds of struggle coming from the other room and hoped that Dream knew what he was doing.

“Tommy, what happened? What did you do?!” Wilbur whispered.

Tommy grit his teeth and tears of frustration and panic welled up behind his eyes, “I didn’t do anything! This isn’t my fault!”

Suddenly a loud thud, like a body hitting the floor, echoes through the Mill, and silence blankets the room. The grunts and clattering from the room next door had gone quiet and the sound of heavy breathing grew closer, as the wolf trudged into the room.

“We gotta get the fuck out of here!” Wilbur whispered as he scouted for a solution, before spotting a ladder that led up to the roof, “Tommy, over there!”

Tommy looked to where his brother was pointing and as quickly as possible began his assent. The wolf, having heard the frantic scrambling, located Wilbur from where he was, still partially hidden behind the machine. It growled as it sprinted full speed towards him and attempted to crash through the gears and machinery but thankfully ended up getting caught on a particularly jagged piece of metal.

“This is it, this is the end. I’m gonna die.” Wilbur said, plastered as close to the wall as possible, as he looked directly into the mouth of what he assumed would be his demise. 

The wolf continued it's frenzied biting until a handful of candies came crashing down onto its, distracting it from its hunt. Wilbur looked up to see Tommy peering down from the roof, waving him up the ladder.

“Hurry the fuck up!” Tommy shouted, and Wilbur lunged for the ladder.

Once on the roof, he looked back to see the oil press completely destroyed, and the rest of the Mill in shambles. The wolf was licking at the candy and both siblings were struck with a realization.

“It was after the candy the whole time?!” Wilbur yelled indignantly.

Tommy’s jaw was slack, and his eyes were wide as he rasped out, “It must’ve followed my stupid candy trail…”

The wolf licked its chops as it finished the candy, and it looked up to notice the two boys. It used the ladder to pull itself up onto its hind legs, and jumped for the opening of the roof. 

“Give it the last of the candy!” Wilbur shouted to Tommy as the wolf managed to leverage itself up and into the opening. It scrambled for some kind of stability, but slowly it was able to drag itself onto the roof.

Tommy rummaged around his pockets, and to his utter horror, found that he had run out of candy. The wolf was now creeping closer as its low growl echoed in the night. Tommy continued his search for candies until he caught a glimpse of the hard candy he had stuck to Wilbur’s cape earlier that evening. He snatched it off of the fabric and hurled it off the side of the roof.

The wolf didn’t hesitate to throw itself after the candy and fall to the ground below, where it hit the barrel from before and coughed out a small black turtle and passed out. The roof, already fragile and unstable, creaked before it too crumbled and collapsed. 

Coughing, Wilbur dug his way out of the rubble and found Tommy, covered in dirt and the occasional splinter, but otherwise, unharmed. The fox, also unharmed, sat atop Tommy’s messy hair as he groomed himself in the morning light.

“Hey Wilbur, look!” Tommy pointed to the once-massive wolf, that had now shrunken down to a dog, “It spit out that turtle and, like, morphed into some stupid mutt!”

Another person’s coughing joined in the symphony of waking animals and bugs, and Dream limped towards the siblings, still carrying his lantern. His mask was cracked, and a patch of his hair was matted with blood from where he must have hit it. When his coughing fit concedes, his eyes widen as he looks over the ruined mill. He drops to his knees and cradled the lantern to his chest.

“It’s gone. The mill… the oil… all gone.” Dream whispered anguishedly.

Wilbur cleared his throat and put his hand on Dream’s shoulder, “Well, at least we took care of your Beast problem!”

Dream snapped his head back to look at Wilbur, fury present on his face, “That dog?! That is not the Beast! It’s not as simple as some random wolf! He sings like the four winds. He is the Death of Hope! He steals and kills and feeds off you and your family!”

Wilbur pulled his hand back nervously and moved to stand closer to Tommy. He punched his brother’s arm lightly and said, “Look what you did this time, Tommy!”

Dream stood to his feet, stomped towards Wilbur purposefully, and jabbed an accusatory finger into his chest, “You’ve got it all backward! You are the older brother! It’s your responsibility to look out for you and your brother, not the other way around. Do not make the same mistakes I did!”

Wilbur brushed off the other teen’s hand, “Look man, we’re sorry about your Millhouse, maybe we can help fix it or something?”

“Just,” Dream sighed and all of his previous anger fled, “Take your brother and head north. Look for a town.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.” Wilbur turns towards Tommy and wraps an arm around his shoulders as he guides them.

“One last thing, Wilbur! Be careful! Be cautious! There is nothing safe from the Beast! And get out of here!” Dream shouted.

“Mmmhmm, I hear ya’, Dream!” Wilbur tossed back nonchalantly.

“And Tommy,” Dream took on a softer tone, “look after that fox. Give it a good name.”

The fox chittered quietly, as Tommy hummed his agreement, and the two brothers marched once more through the forest.

Wilbur made sure that Dream was out of hearing range before turning to his brother, “So that guy was, like, properly crazy, right?”

“Oh, yeah, Wilbur! Screws missing all over the place, a real lunatic if you ask me.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Christ, how far is this town? Surely we should be there by now. This is the way Dream told us to go, right?” Wilbur asked Tommy as the two brothers trudged through the woods on a rocky, dirt path. 

“I’m gonna be honest, Big Man, I barely paid attention to what he was saying, I mean, half of it was nonsense anyway! ‘Sides, Wilbur, push comes to shove, the fox can hunt for us.” Tommy replied. The fox, having heard the boy mention him, huffs and walks a little further ahead of them.

“Tommy! You’ve got to be a little more responsible, we have to get home to Phil, and I can’t be the only one working to get us there!” Wilbur grumbled and marched a couple of feet ahead of Tommy, annoyed.

Tommy sighed and maintained his leisurely pace, kicking rocks with his boots as he passed them. One rock, in particular, had gained Tommy’s preference, it was large enough to kick but small enough not to hurt, and it rolled in a relatively straight path. So when it crashed into a stray pebble and bounced towards a bush, Tommy followed it.

Nearing the bush, Tommy knelt and reached to grab the rock. As he grasped the rock, he heard a familiar, monotone voice shout from just beyond the bush.

“Hello? I need help over here!”

“Wilbur, I hear someone shouting!” Tommy called to his brother.

Wilbur shouted back, “Doesn’t matter! There’s a sign that says there’s a town up ahead.”

Tommy grit his teeth and stood before closing his eyes and attempting to come to a rational decision. He had two options, really. Continue with Wilbur, ignoring someone who could be in danger, or stray from the path and possibly save a life. The choice, to him, was clear. Wilbur was already sick of him anyway, so he might as well save someone and have them be in his debt.

“Whatever, Wilbur!” Tommy pushed the bush aside and ran further into the woods.

Wilbur groaned loudly, “Tommy, please don’t tell me you ran off!”

When no reply but the sound of rapid footsteps came, Wilbur shook his head and turned back to follow his brother, the fox not far behind.

“Hello? Someone needed help?” Tommy said to the empty, yet occupied, forest.

“Yes! Over here! I’m stuck!” The voice called from a hollowed-out log.

Wilbur and the fox caught up to Tommy just as he was about to peer behind the log, “Hold on, Tommy! Let me do it!”

Wilbur tucked Tommy safely behind him and walked around the side of the log to see the pig from earlier, with his hoof stuck in a rotten piece of the log.

“Oh, it’s you, nerds.” The pig said, nonchalant.

“The pig?!” Wilbur cried.

The pig sighed and looked towards Tommy, “Listen, if you get me unstuck I’ll owe you a favor.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow, “Are you like magic or something?”

“No, no, no! Not magical! I’ll just help you out later down the line.”

Tommy hummed, before nodding to himself and reaching out to free the pig’s hoof. Before Tommy could help, however, Wilbur grabbed his shoulder and held him back slightly.

“Wait, Tommy, I don’t know if I trust this.”

Tommy scoffed and brushed his older brother off. “Whatever, Wilbur.” He then pulled at the wood encasing the pig’s hoof until it gave way and snapped off, freeing the pig from the log.

The pig stretched his legs and back, “Thanks, nerd. Say, you two are lost kids with no real purpose in life, right?”

“Hey!”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that-”

“Great!” the pig interrupted, “How about I bring you to Adelaide of the Pasture, the good woman of the woods? She might actually care enough to help you.”

“Okay, um, no,” Wilbur stated firmly, “No, I don’t think we’re gonna follow a magic talking pig into a spooky forest to find some mystical woman who lives in the woods. That’s not happening.” Wilbur grabbed Tommy by his wrist and began dragging him in the direction of the town, “We’re going to that town, Pottsfield, I think.”

Tommy leaned back on his heels so that his brother was more dragging him than guiding him. “Now hold on, Wilbur, maybe we should keep the pig around? Maybe the fox needs a friend? Yeah?”

The fox chuffed from where it sat licking at its paw.

Wilbur shook his head before continuing his path, “The pig can do whatever he wants, but we’re still going to Pottsfield.”

The pig trotted after the brothers, “Wait, but what about the favor?”

“I’ll think of it as we go! But in the meantime, let’s small talk!” Tommy said to the pig.

“I hate small talk.”

“That’s great! My name is Tommy, and the asshole is Wilbur. And the fox doesn’t have a name yet, but I’m working on it.”

The pig sighed in defeat, “ My name is Technoblade, but just call me Techno. Say, how about you and I ditch your brother?”

“Mmmaybe later,” Tommy smirked, “Is it cool being a pig?”

“It’s fine.”

Tommy continued his interrogation, “Do you eat slop?”

Now, Tommy didn’t know pigs could smile evilly, but the only word to describe Techno’s grinning expression was sinister.

“Well some pigs do, but did you know some pigs eat each other? And some even eat humans!” Techno ground out.

And, listen, Tommy was not one to shy away from a fight, but this whole situation was fucked anyway, and who’s to say that the talking pig they just met wouldn’t try to eat him?

“...you’re lying.” Tommy accused nervously.

“Am I, Tommy?”

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Wilbur interrupted, “Tommy, stop talking to the murder pig, and Techno, stop being creepy.” He gestured towards the town that they were now entering, “We made it to civilization, which means, I need everyone to act civil.”

Wilbur’s statement would have had more impact if he hadn’t immediately stepped on a small pumpkin the second he finished saying it.

“Ugh!” Wilbur kicked the pumpkin off of his foot, before sighing, “Let’s just, rejoin society already.”


End file.
